Decked with Holly - Marni Bates

Decked with Holly by Marni Bates

Publisher: K-Teen
Publication Date: September 25, 2012

Source: Publisher (Thanks!) || ARC
[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects any opinions expressed in my review.]

Holly is stuck on a Christmas cruise with her family, most of whom she just does not get along with. Things get interesting when a bout of seasickness forces her to run into an open suite - and that suite just happens to belong to rockstar Dominic Wyatt, drummer for ReadySet, one of the biggest bands in America. Holly agrees to be Dominic's fake girlfriend after her face gets plastered all over the news, but she doesn't expect how crazy it can get...

Once I started Decked with Holly, I knew I wasn't going to be able to put it down. The story was funny, entertaining and just plain adorable. It's become an instant favorite, especially because it reminded me a little of the fan fiction I used to write in my boy band obsessed days. The characters were quirky, the situations they found themselves in equally hilarious and sweet and the romance was so, so cute.

Holly was really easy to like because she's just so witty and so smart, especially when she's arguing with Nick. I liked how she came across as an average teen, since it added to the whole Cinderella feel of this story. Her talent for drawing, her awkwardness, and her love for her grandfather were all things that added to her charm as well.

Nick, on the other hand, just sounded like the ideal guy - which isn't a surprise considering he's the drummer of one of the biggest bands in the world. He came across as intensely creative, unabashedly sweet (even though Holly definitely forced him to be at first) and just extremely good-looking. Obviously, as a fan of boy bands, he was the kind of guy who appealed to me!

When these two meet for the first time, sparks fly - in a non-romantic way. Right from the get go, they are placed in an unusual situation and that pretty much sets the tone for their fauxmance. I like how they would go from being forced to do things, like act sweet in public or plan dates, to actually wanting these things from each other. The transition from fauxmance to romance was really quick, but it totally fit into the storyline so I didn't have too much of a problem with it.

Decked with Holly is really funny, and also the kind of book that will leave you with an incredibly positive feeling after reading it. It's just seriously so darn cute, especially how it ends! I can hardly believe that this is the first book by Marni Bates that I've read, and am going to have to remedy that travesty very, very soon.